Ruth Padilla deBorst knew John Stott from her childhood since he was a frequent visitor to the family home in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America. In fact, the main photograph for the episode’s image shows John celebrating his 80th birthday with the Padilla family in 2001. Ruth’s father, the late and much missed René Padilla, became an important colleague and close friend of John’s, in part through their participation in IFES student ministry across Latin America and especially through the Lausanne Movement. John was instrumental in getting René a place in the main speaker programme at the 1974 Lausanne Congress and the latter didn’t pull his punches in what was one of the most significant addresses of the entire event.

 

Ruth is a noted theologian and missiologist in her own right. A former Langham Scholar, she lives with her husband James in a community in Costa Rica (Casa Adobe), while leading and contributing to a wide range of institutions and initiatives.

• To read René Padilla’s original 1974 Lausanne address, click here.
• An introduction to Casa Adobe in Costa Rica
• CETI (Comunidad de Estudios Teológicos Interdisciplinarios) the institution Ruth leads (in Spanish).
• INFEMIT – the International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation